Steel Panther
Steel Panther | |
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Background information | |
Also known as |
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Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 2000–present |
Labels | |
Members |
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Past members |
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Website | steelpantherrocks |
Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by lead singer Michael Starr, the band formed in 2000 as Metal Shop and was also known as Metal Skool before adopting the name Steel Panther in 2008. The band is known for its profane and humorous lyrics,[5] and for parodying the stereotypical glam metal lifestyle.
History
Metal Shop / Metal Skool (2000–2007)
The quartet began to gain popularity on the
Feel the Steel (2008–2010)
In April 2008, the band decided to change their name from Metal Skool to Steel Panther, making a new debut at The Rockin' Saddle Club in
Steel Panther released
The record's success also caught the attention of the Grammys, making it onto the "Best Comedy Album" ballot in October 2010, yet failing to reach a nomination.[citation needed]
Balls Out and British Invasion (2011–2013)
Steel Panther released their second album
Due to their growing popularity, Steel Panther were invited by
On December 6, 2011, Steel Panther announced their second solo UK tour in support of their newest album Balls Out. Tickets for the shows went on sale on December 9, 2011, with many ticket providers selling out their allocations within a month. Brazzers sponsored the Australian tour of Steel Panther in early October 2012, which sold out in Brisbane, Sydney (two shows), Melbourne, and Adelaide. Another headline UK tour took place in November 2012. In late 2012, Steel Panther's European tour was crowned a huge success. They played sold-out shows, particularly in Germany.[8]
Steel Panther released their first Live DVD British Invasion in September 2012.[10] The DVD was released worldwide on October 22, 2012.[11] The DVD was filmed at Brixton Academy in London and features a two-hour concert/documentary based on the band's sold-out British tour.[12][13]
Steel Panther played on the main stage at Download Festival in June 2012, during which they were joined on stage by Corey Taylor of Slipknot to play "Death to All But Metal". Taylor wore wellies on stage. They played in front of a crowd of over 100,000 people.[14] Steel Panther toured Australia in December 2013, supported by Buckcherry and Fozzy. Shows were sold out in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth between December 6 and 12.:[15]
All You Can Eat (2014–2015)
In late 2013, Steel Panther announced a new tour in the year 2014,[16] titled the "Spreading the Disease (S.T.D.) Tour".[17] They toured Europe throughout February and March 2014.[18] In support of their latest album, Steel Panther began touring North America in May 2014, their first headlining tour of America. In June, they moved the tour to Europe and continued to tour through August 2014.[18]
The band released their third studio album
The third single, "Gloryhole", was released in April 2014 on Steel Panther's VEVO channel. On March 26, 2014 the album was leaked online and available for downloading on various websites, most likely after being streamed by the German tabloid Bild. The online stream was approved by Steel Panther.[citation needed]
In June 2014, the band announced a short UK Tour with 4 dates scheduled for March 2015, supported by Skindred[19] and The Lounge Kittens.[20] The band sold out almost every venue on the tour, which included Wembley Arena, London. In April 2015, the group had a cameo in the music video for the Ninja Sex Party song "Road Trip" to tell of their sexual exploits that year. Michael Starr contributes vocals to "6969" on NSP's third album Attitude City as the head Dick Elder.[citation needed]
Steel Panther started a YouTube series called Steel Panther TV in Fall 2014[21] with segments like Science Panther, Love on the Rocks, Cineminute, World of Music, and Demolicious.
Lower the Bar and Heavy Metal Rules (2016–2021)
Steel Panther's acoustic album Live from Lexxi's Mom's Garage became available for pre-order on January 7, 2016, with the new song "That's When You Came In" preceding the album's release on February 26. The band went on the Adult Swim call-in show FishCenter Live to promote the album on January 22, 2016.
In September of the same year, Steel Panther released a cover of Cheap Trick's "She's Tight" with the announcement that their fourth studio album Lower the Bar would be released on March 24, 2017. Robin Zander and Bobbie Brown made cameo appearances in the music video for "She's Tight".
Their fifth album Heavy Metal Rules was announced in July 2019, and scheduled for a September 27, 2019 release. The music video for the first single from the album, "All I Wanna Do Is Fuck (Myself Tonight)", debuted on July 8, 2019. The second single titled, "Always Gonna Be a Ho", was released on August 9, 2019. The third single "Gods of Pussy" was released on September 6, 2019. Music videos for the title track, Fuck Everybody, and Let's Get High Tonight were also released on the band's YouTube channel though were not released as singles. In December 2020, they released "Fuck 2020" as a non-album single and music video.[22] The song is an alternative version of "Fuck Everybody" from Heavy Metal Rules with new lyrics reflecting the COVID-19 pandemic.[23] In March 2021, they released covers of the Van Halen classics "Beautiful Girls" and "D.O.A." as non-album singles.[24] A video was released for the songs where they are in a video meeting setup reminiscent of Zoom.[25][26]
New bassist and On the Prowl (2021–present)
In December 2018, the band announced that long-time bassist Lexxi Foxx would be missing the upcoming tour to go to "sex rehab."[27] Foxx's stand-in was Joe "Spyder" Lester, the band's tour manager, as well as Starr and Satchel's former bandmate from The Atomic Punks.[28] Lexxi returned to the band for the next tour, but still missed some dates, where he was filled in for by both Spyder and Tanner "T.K." Keegan.
In July 2021, it was revealed that Foxx had left the band. The band cited it was a mutual decision, jokingly stating that Foxx was pursuing his own business "Sexxy Lexxi's Prettiest Pets."[29][30] In August, the band opened up virtual auditions for a new bass player.[23][31] The band introduced new touring bassist Rikki Dazzle in October 2021,[32] though Michael Starr revealed the band were still looking for a permanent member.[33] In December, the band launched the "Road to the Road" promotion, featuring a bracket of 32 selected auditions to narrow down to a field of 10 finalists. The pre-selected finalists included Dazzle and Rikki Thrash (who would both tour with the band in November and December),[34] as well as Spyder; in September of 2022, Spyder was selected as the new full-time bassist for the band.[35]
The band's self-produced sixth studio album, On The Prowl, was released in 2023. Also in 2023, Steel Panther had a successful audition for America's Got Talent.[36]
Band members
Current members
- Ralph "Michael Starr" Saenz – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (2000–present)
- Russ "Satchel" Parrish – guitars, backing vocals, acoustic guitar (2000–present)
- Darren "Stix Zadinia" Leader – drums, percussion, keyboards, piano, backing vocals (2003–present)
- Joe "Spyder" Lester – bass, backing vocals (2022–present)
Former members
- Ray Luzier – drums, percussion (2000–2003)[37]
- Travis "Lexxi Foxx" Haley – bass, backing vocals (2000–2021)[29]
Former touring members
- Phil "Silk Pockett" Buckman – bass, backing vocals (2021)
- Rikki Dazzle – bass, backing vocals (2021)
- Rikki Thrash – bass, backing vocals (2021–2022)
- Tanner "T.K." Keegan – bass, backing vocals (2022)
- Tavis "Tracii Boom Boom Thunders" Stanley – bass, backing vocals (2022)
Timeline
Discography
- Studio albums
- Feel the Steel (2009)
- Balls Out (2011)
- All You Can Eat (2014)
- Lower the Bar (2017)
- Heavy Metal Rules (2019)
- On the Prowl (2023)
Videography
- Fat Girl (Thar She Blows) – The Video (2005) – home DVD featuring the music video for the title track and behind-the-scenes footage.
- Behind the Music: Steel Panther (2009) – iTunes podcast featuring a fake Behind the Music story for Steel Panther. (Features stars like Matt Sorum, Kat Von D, Jani Lane, Dee Snider and Dave Navarro)
- British Invasion (2012) first live release
- Live from Lexxi's Mom's Garage (2016) second live release
Awards
- Best Debut: Feel the Steel – Metal Hammer Germany
- 2012 Live Act of the Year – Loudwire Music Awards
- 2013 Live Act of the Year – Loudwire Music Awards
- 2014 Video of the Year: "Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World" – Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards[38]
References
- ^ David, Amy (October 6, 2015). "Steel Panther's Lexxi Foxx chats about touring in VA, 80s nostalgia and glam metal ahead of ..." Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Lymangrover, Jason (February 26, 2009). "Steel Panther". AllMusic. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
- ^ Settle, Ken (December 3, 2018). "Steel Panther live at Fillmore Detroit on 12-2-2018". Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ Pakinkis, Tom. "Kobalt Signs Steel Panther for Label Services and Publishing". Musicweek.
- ^ "Steel Panther Lyrics Analyzed". Lee Bob Black. March 21, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
- ^ a b "Steel Panther". musicmight.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ "Las Vegas - 'The High Price of Gas' Episode Info - MSN TV". Tv.msn.com. November 30, 2007. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ a b "interview Michael Starr". entertaim.net. November 8, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- CinemaBlend. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
- ^ "Steel Panther to Offend Conservative Types With 'British Invasion' DVD". Noisecreep. September 12, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ "STEEL PANTHER UNVEIL TRACK LIST + RELEASE DATE FOR 'BRITISH INVASION' DVD". Loudwire.com. September 12, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ "STEEL PANTHER On Nashville's 102.9 THE BUZZ: Acoustic Performance, Video Interview - May 14, 2013". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ "STEEL PANTHER'S 'BRITISH INVASION' DVD PENETRATES THE TOP OF THE CHARTS". Loudwire.com. November 8, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
- ^ [1] Archived February 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Steel Panther". Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ^ Steel Panther Tourdates. Vorverkaufstarts.de retrieved October 14, 2013.
- ^ EURO TOUR VIP PACKAGES! Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine SteelPantherRocks.com retrieved March 22, 2014
- ^ a b "Tour". Steel Panther Fans. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ^ "Steel Panther Announce 2015 UK Tour With Skindred". Rock Sound Magazine. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ^ "MUSIC NEWS: The Lounge Kittens Added To Steel Panther's 2015 UK Tour". Bring the Noise UK. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ^ "Steel Panther TV". Steel Panther. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ^ "Steel Panther". Steel Panther. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ a b "STEEL PANTHER's SATCHEL: 'We Didn't Want LEXXI FOXX To Quit' The Band". Blabbermouth. September 1, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ Childers, Chad (March 11, 2021). "Steel Panther Cover Van Halen's 'Beautiful Girls' + 'D.O.A'". Loudwire. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
- ^ Steel Panther - "Beautiful Girls (Van Halen cover)" [Official Video], retrieved February 1, 2022
- ^ Steel Panther - "D.O.A. (Van Halen cover)" [Official Video], retrieved February 1, 2022
- ^ "Steel Panther bassist drops out of tour to enter 'sex rehab'". NME. December 3, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ Tromblay, Darren (March 29, 2019). "Everybody Wants Him: Steel Panther Tour Manager-Tech Joe Lester". Listen Iowa. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ a b Brown, Paul 'Browny' (July 18, 2021). "Get Your Balls Out for Lexxi Foxx – Steel Panther's Sexy Bassist Bails…". Wall Of Sound. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
- ^ "THE END OF AN ERA - THANK YOU, LEXXI FOXX". Steel Panther. July 17, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ "DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO PLAY BASS FOR PANTHER?". August 16, 2021. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ "Watch STEEL PANTHER Perform With New Bassist RIKKI DAZZLE". Blabbermouth. October 21, 2021.
- ^ "STEEL PANTHER Is Still Auditioning Bass Players, Says MICHAEL STARR". Blabbermouth.net. October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
- ^ "BAND ASKING FANS TO HELP NARROW DOWN THE MONTH-OLD QUESTION – "WHO WILL BE THE NEXT BASSIST FOR STEEL PANTHER"". December 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
- ^ @Steel_Panther. "Tweet from September 20, 2022". Twitter. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
- ^ Trapp, Philip (May 30, 2023). "Steel Panther Electrify 'America's Got Talent' With Their Rocking Audition". Loudwire. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- ^ Britt, Natalia (February 8, 2016). "Korn's Luzier recalls early Steel Panther days". Louder Sound. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
- ^ "Winners Revealed For Metal Hammer's 2014 'Golden Gods Awards'". The PRP UK. Retrieved June 6, 2014.